Czech PM Andrej Babiš sees no reason to extend the State of Emergency, which expires on April 30.

The government will discuss it further on Thursday. According to Babiš, the whole ANO party will vote unanimously against the extension.

However, ČSSD chairman and the head of the country’s Central Crisis Staff, has repeatedly stated that an “extension of the State of Emergency would be necessary.”

“If the Prime Minister does not want to extend the State of Emergency, then it makes no sense to ask the government. I will order the Ministry of Internal Affairs to prepare the documents to stop the centralized distribution of protective equipment by April 30,” wrote Hamáček on Twitter.

“>Můj dopis panu premiérovi, v němž vysvětluji důvody pro pokračování nouzového stavu: pic.twitter.com/jCNvzj1Fkl

— Jan Hamáček (@jhamacek) April 21, 2020

Hamáček warned that it would no longer be possible, for instance, to purchase protective equipment centrally or to control the regime at the country’s borders.

Minister of Labor Jana Maláčová (ČSSD) is also skeptical about the consequences of the end of the State of Emergency on April 30. “If this happens, I want to know how to protect the elderly after the emergency, how we will help Czech companies, families and individuals to overcome this crisis. The emergency can be “canceled”, but it will not eliminate the real need of people,” she said to Novinky.cz

In the morning, the members of TOP 09 confirmed that they would not support further emergency extension.

The termination of the State of Emergency mode does not mean the automatic cancellation of restrictive measures.

The main point is that the Czech government will no longer be able to quickly and easily introduce new restrictions and adopt laws in a simplified manner.

The state of emergency was declared by the government effective 12 March 14:00 and was due to expire on Saturday 11 April; the government requested deputies to extend it until the end of the month.

With effect from April 14th, 2020 (0:00) new conditions of entry to the territory of the Czech Republic shall apply for the duration of the state of emergency.

Foreigners residing in the Czech Republic, like Czech citizens, will be able to travel abroad, now with the possibility of returning during the state of emergency.

The purpose of travel must be in accordance with the exceptions to the prohibition of free movement imposed by the Ministry of Health.

It is therefore limited to necessary and justified cases only (e.g. fulfillment of official duties, work abroad, etc.), which will have to be proven individually to the police at border crossings. Diplomatic notice from an embassy is therefore no longer required.

Interior Minister Jan Hamáček, who heads the country’s Central Crisis Staff, said this does not mean Czechs “can go shopping in Dresden. The borders are still closed, visas won’t be issued and foreigners are still banned” from entering.

Everyone returning to the Czech Republic (both citizens and foreigners) must undergo a 14-day ordered mandatory quarantine.

Only clearly defined cases of journeys shorter than 24 hours are subject to the exception of the ordered quarantine.

Prohibition of entry to foreigners (including EU citizens), with the exception of those with a valid residence permit, remains effective.

A ban on travel to “risk” states entered into effect on March 14; two days later it was extended to all countries.

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